Race Report — WRS at Laguna Seca 2026: Pole by 2 Seconds, a Win, and a Fight Back to P2

Ana Palestro on the top step of the Women's Racing Series podium at Laguna Seca, raising her trophy after her Saturday win

The Saturday win after taking a commanding lead in qualifying.

Races 7 and 8 of the Formula Pro USA Western Championship held June 26–28, 2026 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, were my first race weekend with Kiwi Motorsport.

A pack of Formula Pro USA F4 cars racing through a turn at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, June 2026

A highly competitive field made for the most exciting races this year!

Saturday, I took the WRS pole with a gap of more than 2 seconds to the next driver in class. I took the WRS win in Race 7, with Yana Kapoor finishing P2 and my teammate Narcisse Triano rounding out the podium in P3. My best lap of the weekend was a 1:34.

Ana Palestro and fellow Women's Racing Series drivers raising their trophies in the Laguna Seca Winners Circle after her comeback to P2

My smile says it all: that comeback was one for the books.

Sunday was a different story, and one that I am proud of. During qualifying in the WRS class, the drivers were all within a tenth of each other. The final qualifying order was Narcisse, Yana, and then me. Fast forward to the race: I spun on one of the early laps. I fought to get back up to P2, overtaking several cars, cutting a 16-second difference between my car and P1 to 3 seconds by the end of the race.

Kiwi Motorsport drivers and crew, including Ana Palestro, gathered in the team paddock at Laguna Seca

Laguna 2026 saw the Kiwi team take 6 podiums!

Thank you to everyone at Kiwi Motorsport for an incredible first weekend together. Full results are in the official Formula Pro USA race report (formulaprousa.com, July 1, 2026) and Kiwi Motorsport’s team recap (kiwimotorsport.com).




Ana Palestro

Ana Palestro is a 16 year old F4 driver currently racing for Kiwi Motorsport. Building on a lifelong passion for cars, she has dedicated the last two years of her life to honing her racecraft and taking major steps on and off track - all in pursuit of a long and successful racing career.  Learn more about Ana at anapalestro.com, and follow her on social media.  To discuss partnership and other opportunities, contact partnerships@anapalestro.com.  Article and images: copyright 2026, Ana Motorsports LLC 

https://www.anapalestro.com
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